Westminster Report

BY the Rt Hon Mark Francois MP for Rayleigh and Wickford and Shadow Armed Forces Minister.
The First Duty of Government is the Defence of the Realm.
I have been interested in defence since I was a child. I can vividly remember a conversation that my late father, Stoker First Class Reginald Francois, once had with me, when he recounted his personal experience of D-Day. His tone was sombre and mellow, he did not glorify the day or the war at all, in fact, it was quite the opposite; he kept talking about how many young men had died that day, to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny.
As a child, I keenly listened to what he said, including when he told me to never take living in a free country for granted.
That conversation was really the catalyst for my passion in defence and national security issues. Some years later, whilst studying History (and then War Studies) at University, I joined the Officer Training Corps and then, after graduating, I joined the Territorial Army, which I served in, as an Infantry Officer, during the Cold War, when the Berlin Wall was still up.
These experiences, in combination with the time I spent as an MoD Minister and more latterly as a Shadow Defence Minister, have resulted in my steadfast belief that the first duty of any Government is the Defence of the Realm.
The world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been raging since 2022, however, the Russo-Ukrainian war technically commenced in 2014, when Russia invaded Crimea.
On top of this, the conflicts in the Middle East remain ever present, with tensions between the USA and Iran, as well as Israel and their neighbours, frequently boiling over.
It is, therefore, incredibly worrying that the Labour Government have taken a number of actions, since winning the 2024 General Election, which potentially risk our own national security. These include their unwarranted and damaging delay in publishing their much-vaunted Defence Investment Plan; and their relentless pursuit to change legislation, which would expose our brave Northern Ireland Veterans to ‘lawfare’, via a litany of claims, many inspired by Sinn Feinn.
The UK also has a number of strategic overseas bases, some of which, including Diego Garcia, are situated not too far (in the grand scheme of things) from the Middle East.
However, Keir Starmer’s decision to prevent the US from using that base, meant that some United States Air Force B2 Bomber crews had to fly 37+ hour roundtrips, in order to complete their operations, against Iranian nuclear facilities. This decision was publicly criticised by President Trump and drove a wedge in the Special Relationship.
The one good thing that arose from this, is that Trump then effectively vetoed Labour’s barmy plan to waste £35 billion in renting back the Chagos Islands – which already belonged to us, in the first place.
Secondly, when Labour published their much-vaunted Strategic Defence Review (SDR) in June 2025, the three authors, led by former Labour Defence Secretary, Lord Robertson, were adamant the Government would need to spend at least 3% of GDP on Defence, in order to deliver it. However, the DIP – which was supposed to explain, in detail, how this would be achieved – is “too little, too late”, as Labour will only be spending 2.7% by 2030 and STILL ducks the key question of when 3% will be achieved? (In contrast, Kemi Badenoch has said it should be 2029, at the very latest).
The delay in publishing the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) has also caused stagnation in the defence procurement sector, with some small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) being forced to either move their operations abroad or, in extreme cases, go bankrupt. A high-profile example of this is AERALIS – a British company that was vying to build the next generation of training jet for the Red Arrow – who went bust in May 2026.
Thirdly, Labour’s benighted Northern Ireland Troubles Bill, which I have written about before, would, if it becomes law, open our brave Northern Ireland Veterans up to ‘lawfare’ claims.
Phil Shiner, a disgraced lawyer, was struck off for creating literally hundreds of vexatious claims against Armed Forces personnel, he created an industry out of such ‘lawfare’ and in one notable case, the Al-Jeddah case, our (just about) current Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, was actually instructed by Phil Shiner’s law firm, to act against British Soldiers.
My Conservative colleagues and I have – and shall continue to – stand up to this injustice and endeavour to prevent this torrid Bill from becoming law, as we remain steadfast in “defending those who defended us”.
In my role as Shadow Armed Forces Minister, I have done my utmost to oppose Labour’s ruinous polices and I am not alone, as my fellow Opposition Defence Team and numerous Conservative back bench MPs, many of them Veterans themselves, have also spoken out in both the House of Commons and in the media. It should also be noted that we have been joined in our opposition by two senior Labour MoD Ministers (the Secretary of State, John Healey and the Minister for the Armed Forces, Al Carns DSO MBE MC), who, last month, both resigned on a point of principle, in protest at how defence is being underfunded by this Government.
In summary, the world is becoming an increasingly dangerous place, yet this Labour Government do not appear to have grasped the gravity of the situation. I believe that all of the issues mentioned above, clearly demonstrate how Labour are failing to protect the UK and its sovereign territory.
In short: The first duty of any Government is the Defence of the Realm and Labour are gravely failing to defend us.
Picture: Shadow Armed Forces Minister, Mark Francois MP, with Opposition Leader, Kemi Badenoch MP, visiting 33 Engineer Regiment in Essex, during Armed Forces Week 2026.
Read more
Visit: https://leigh-on-sea.news
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/leighonsea.news
X : @leighonsea_news
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leighonsea.news
Contact us: https://leigh-on-sea.news/contact-us
Email: [email protected]